MADRID, 31 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Espanyol closed the year 2021 with a smile when they released their home victories record this Friday after beating Valencia 1-2 at the Mestalla that was punished in the final minutes as a result of the expulsion of Hugo Duro, in a match corresponding to the nineteenth round of LaLiga Santander 2021-2022.
The Catalan team still did not know what it was like to win away from their fortress at RCDE Stadium and had only been able to score three of the 27 possible points. In addition, he had not won in the Valencian fiefdom since 2007 and visited a strong local team in front of his fans and that he had not lost since last October 27.
And everything seemed like it was destined for Vicente Moreno’s men to leave the Turia capital empty because in the 82nd minute they lost 1-0, but from then on the game changed with the penalty and the expulsion of Hugo Duro. Espanyol tied and then was able to come back to take a victory that leaves them with an optimal 26 points and that deprives José Bordalás’s men from closing 2021 provisionally in ‘Champions positions’.
Valencia marred a solid game in the final quarter hour. He pressed and was ambitious from the start, but he only found as a reward a header from Hugo Duro in the first minutes that he crashed into the post. Despite continuing to dominate, little by little he lost some intensity and that allowed his rival to survive somewhat better, although he did not threaten Cillessen too much in the first half.
Yes, he did it just off center in the resumption, but the scorer Raúl de Tomás did not hit with his shot with the goalkeeper ‘che’ already surpassed after a good center from Loren. However, that warning was answered in the form of a goal by those of Bordalás, who went ahead with a great header from Alderete shortly after.
Valencia did not take a step back and continued to want to take command of the duel, but Vicente Moreno’s changes were taking effect and fatigue was taking its toll on the locals, who were increasingly given over to the counterattack. Espanyol was locking him in and Puado touched the equalizer with a shot outside the area that touched the post.
The final stretch was devastating for the Valencians. Hugo Duro saw two yellow cards in a few minutes, the second for committing a penalty on the young Carreras, which caused De Tomás to 1-1. With almost no time to reorganize, a great Carreras center headed him to the Puado network to turn the score around. As on previous occasions, Valencia pressed in search of equalizing in the extra minutes, but Iranzo’s shot went to the wood and Cheryshev’s later shot was taken out by the author of 1-2.